Genesis 39:11-18 – Flee youthful lusts…

Joseph was not only handsome but also faithful both to God and to his master. His integrity was absolutely impeccable. Could he have seen what was coming? But even if he could he was unable to avoid it as he had to fulfil his administrative obligation within Potiphar’s household. So what actually happened caught him unaware. Verses 11-12 say, “Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.” Mrs Potiphar had waited till no one was in the house. She was scheming and waited for a perfect opportunity to entice Joseph. But this faithful servant would have none of it. In this situation, there must have been some ensuing scuffle as Joseph sought to be free from the entanglement. When he had finally freed himself, he dashed out as fast as he could from Mrs. Potiphar, leaving his garment in her hand.

In terms of lying, Potiphar’s wife was a skilful one. She customized her lies according to the audience she was catering to. First she designed her lies to elicit the support of her servants, then she concocted it to rouse her husband’s anger. She first gathered all the men of the household and vehemently protested, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed. When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” Notice how she framed her lies. By referring to Joseph as the Hebrew, she was trying to play the racial line. She was trying to arouse a nationalistic feeling among the Egyptians to incite a racial discrimination.

Then she left the garment of Joseph lying beside her till her husband came home. She did it to substantiate her story. She wanted Potiphar to imagine that Joseph came into her with intention to violate her. Her story line was that Joseph came to her room, took off his garment and lined them beside her and was about to come onto her. It was then that she screamed. She made it seems as if Joseph only ran away because her scream alerted the others in the house. Notice how she told the lies in a calculated way to incite Potiphar’s maximum anger. She referred to Joseph as the Hebrew servant. What she was trying to say was that it would be bad enough to be violated by a Hebrew but the attempted violation was not just a Hebrew but a Hebrew slave at that. Then she went on to insinuate that it was partly her husband’s fault, referring to Joseph as the Hebrew servant “…whom you brought to us….” The meaning seems to be, “If you did not bring this foreigner in this would never have had happened.” No wonder Potiphar always worked late.

The way Joseph responded to the persistent goading of Mrs Potiphar to sin, leaves us with a key on how to deal with the seduction of sin. So long as we don’t give in to the insinuation, subtle or otherwise, we do well. Joseph did not give in to the continuous goading of Mrs Potiphar. Bear in mind that sin is persistent. When we are cornered, the best action is the one taken by Joseph. He ran as far as he could from the source of seduction. He refused to entertain or rationalize with sin. He just flatly refused to have anything to do with it. What Joseph did was exactly Paul’s counsel to Timothy, his protégé, and by extension, all young people desiring to live for the Lord today. In 1 Timothy 2:22, Paul’s exact words were, “Now flee from youthful lusts.…” This is the best advice to deal with lust. Listen to it!

Genesis 39:6b-10 – Overcoming the persistence of luring temptation

Joseph had his mother’s gene. For like Rachel, he was very good looking. He was extraordinarily handsome. It was this quality of his that got Potiphar’s wife attracted to him. And again we see him suffer because of this endowment. We read in verse 7 that “It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, ‘Lie with me.’” Lust has been a part of man since the fall. Both men and women had found it hard to control. And Mrs. Potiphar was certainly such a person. She couldn’t resist this good looking Joseph. Being in the habit of insisting on getting what she wanted, she lusted after Joseph. She was an unconscious slave to her own lust. As far as she was concerned, Joseph was only one of the slaves in her house. But she failed to realize that in reality she was more a slave than Joseph was.

Joseph could have easily fallen. After all he was only about 18 years old, an age where his male hormone was in full production. At this age anyone would also be more curious about sex, and the drive to find out would have easily gotten the better of him. Hence it came as a great surprise that Joseph did not fall for this temptation. He could have easily rationalized and told himself that no one would know about it. It could only be a secret kept between them two – Mrs Potiphar and himself. Besides, by giving in to her could also indirectly contribute to his career advancement. Furthermore, Potiphar was so busy to pay attention to his wife and was not meeting her need. Poor thing, she certainly was entitled to some affection. Aren’t these the rationale people give for a secret tryst?

From the position of his predicament, Joseph had every reason to go for it. Through no fault of his, he became a victim for being the father’s favourite. His brothers despised and hated him and betrayed him by selling him to Egypt. And now he was all alone in a foreign land having no one to fend for him but himself. In human terms, he had every right to be angry and bitter. Who could blame him if he had indulged in resentment and self-pity? It is easy for a person in such a plight to cave in and give in to a little fling.         

Kudos to Joseph, he did not fall for the ruse. Mrs Potiphar’s blatant invitation was met with a long passionate and vehement refusal. Joseph’s flat and strongly worded refusal were captured in verses 8-9. He said, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” In refusing to sin, Joseph had flatly refused to do three things. Firstly, He refused to betray the trust given to him. Secondly, he refused to betray Potiphar, his master. Thirdly and most importantly, he refused to betray God Himself. He could resist the temptation instantly because he was a faithful man and one who was full of integrity. This account is not about sexual fidelity but moral accountability. Young as he was, Joseph had a moral made of steel. His faithfulness to himself, his boss and his God, had helped him to turn away from this enormous temptation.

The one certainty that kept Joseph from deviating was the fact that he would not sin against his God. He was consciously aware of the presence of the unseen God in every situation of his life. Joseph had long been convinced that God could see everything, even thigs that no one knows about. Yes, God can see any sin committed behind closed door, even those committed in dark unlit rooms. According to David in Psalm 139, there can never be a place where God would be absent. And Hebrews 4:13 has this to say, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Nothing can ever be concealed from the eyes of God.

Verse 10 gives us a hint to the persistent nature of temptation. It will not only come once or twice, but will keep coming and with greater intensity. It will seek opportune time and condition. So we are told that Mrs Potiphar spoke to Joseph day after day. Glory to God Joseph did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. Like Joseph, our life is also exposed to the luring temptation of all sorts of shape and form. Magazines, television, movies, computers and the whole host of modern gadgets that ubiquitously besiege us and asking us to come “lie down with me.” Let’s take a cue from Joseph. Will we say with him, “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?!”

Genesis 39:1-6a – The presence of God in one’s life always makes the difference

The last we left Joseph, he was sold to an Ishmaelite trader and on his way to Egypt. Of course he had plenty of reasons to hate and even blame God if he had wanted to. Doubtless, Joseph was naïve, boyish and innocent. He was unsuspicious of his brothers’ intention and must have been caught by surprise by his brothers’ hatred toward him. He was left in a pit awaiting his execution. But God’s intervention came in the appearance of the Ishmaelites who bought him and now he was bound for Egypt. Ever wonder what was on his mind as he was en-route to Egypt? He must have felt truly abandoned and had every reason to be bitter. It’s not uncommon for anyone in such a predicament to think about revenge. But we will see that Joseph was not such a person. He chose to abandon himself to God and trust Him instead. The common refrain found in the account of his life so often was “…and the Lord was with him.”

Now in Egypt, he was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard. Did Joseph remember his dream? Would his brothers and his father indeed come and bow down to him? Now in Potiphar’s house Joseph was an instant hit. He became a huge success. The reason was made evidently clear in verses 2-3, “The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.  Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.”  In these two verses we see twice, the phrase …the Lord was with him. So the success of Joseph hanged on the fact that the Lord was with Him.

Notice the word “LORD” is translated from the word “Yahweh,” the personal covenant name of God.  It tells us that the covenant working God was working in his life. Note also that while the covenant keeping God was working in him, Joseph was in the most uncertain time of his life. Often in tough situations, it’s difficult to imagine God in the midst of those trials working out something good. As it was with Joseph so will it be for us. Joseph at this point probably could see nothing of God in his situation. But it was precisely at this moment that the covenant keeping God was working out the tenets of the covenant he made with Abraham, his great grandfather. God was in the background working out a blessing for Joseph and through him to bless the world.

Joseph’s success was phenomenal and was quickly elevated. His work ethics did not go unnoticed. He was promoted to be Potiphar’s personal assistant and overseer. He was a super-worker and Potiphar left everything to Joseph’s care except his food. It’s probably because of the meal-rituals that the Egyptians had that Joseph found himself exempted. So Joseph was given charge of everything belonging to Potiphar, yes even his wife. She would soon become the thorn in his flesh.  So watch out Joseph!

As it was with Joseph, hardship may be exactly the place where God is working best in our life. The degree of our trust in God is best seen through the ordeal of trials. What we do when we are going through it matters. Remember, every crisis builds substance in our life. More than that, it also reveals the substance we are made up of. We become strengthened each time we endure a trial and come out of it intact in our trust in Him. So trust Him!   

Genesis 38:27-30 – God will shape our destiny if we let Him

Jacob’s life story began with the account of his birth. He struggled with Esau even while he was in his mother’s womb. Now when we come to the end of his life we see the same narrative - the struggle of another pair of twins in Tamar’s womb. So verses 27-30 describe it for us: “It came about at the time she was giving birth, that behold, there were twins in her womb. Moreover, it took place while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” But it came about as he drew back his hand that behold, his brother came out. Then she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was named Perez. Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand; and he was named Zerah.”

The result was similar to that of Jacob and Esau. The younger gained prominence and pre-eminence over the elder. We will see all this play out in the history of Israel. It became more evident in the book of Ruth. In the record of the ten generations in Ruth 4:18-22, the list begins with Perez and ends with King David. Again in Matthew 1:2-6 we see the record of this ten generations of Perez to David, before Matthew defining it further to Christ. It all happened because of Tamar’s determination. Her determination saw her being grafted into playing a key role in the history of God’s chosen people. Here she became the vessel through whom two great kings arose – King David and Christ Jesus, the King of all kings.

If we look closely at Matthew chapter 1’s list of the genealogy of Christ, we will see five women namely, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. Of these five, four were non-Jewish. We will also notice the absence of the prominent mothers, namely Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel. They were not even mentioned. Why did Matthew mention the four Gentile women before referring to Mary? It’s because they were all Gentiles. Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites, Ruth was a Moabitess and Bathsheba was a Hittite. Matthew’s intention was to make known that all along in God’s redemption plan, He does have the Gentiles in mind. And also for the same reason, Matthew closed his Gospel with the Great Commission, i.e.  “…to make disciples of all nations.”  

We may wonder why the relationship of all the four Gentile women were introduced in so undignified circumstances. Tamar sold herself to Judah; Ruth invited herself by lying at Boaz’s feet in the night; Rahab was introduced as a harlot and Bathsheba had an adulterous relationship with David. The answer is obvious, we worship a magnanimous God. He does not side-line us for our scandalous life. He wants to change and transform us to bring us into alignment with His plan. He wants us to become like Christ His beloved Son. We must not see this as a suggestion that we can go on living life scandalously. On the contrary, this is a call to come to God as we are and then allow Him to change our life and shape our destiny. What mercy! What love!     

Genesis 38:12-26 – Owning up to one’s mistake

Judah, as we have learned, had no intention to let Tamar, his daughter-in-law, have his youngest son Selah. He had kept him away from her for a while. Meanwhile, Judah himself became a widower. His wife, the daughter of Shua, died. Tamar knew that her father-in-law would seek the comfort of a woman after his mourning period was over. And she was right. She guessed that he would be visiting his old friend Hirah during sheep shearing time. Being a Canaanite woman, she also knew that prostitutes would be selling themselves for religious function. So Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute. Her intention was to lure Judah into it to help her produce a child for her departed husband, Er.

Judah fell for the bait. He could not contain his sexual appetite. However, he did not have a goat to pay for Tamar’s service and was ready to give her some personal items as collateral until he sent her the goat. He handed Tamar his seal, a signet together with the cord that he wore round his neck, and his staff. So he slept with her that night. After the escapade, Tamar resumed her widowhood. We are told that Tamar conceived a child by Judah. But he did not know it. So he sent the goat through his friend but Tamar, who disguised as the prostitute, could not be found.  

In a sense, Tamar was betrothed to Shelah. Any infidelity on her part would mean death. So when the pregnancy of Tamar was made known to Judah, he wanted to have her burned. He wanted to conveniently get rid of her once and for all. As Tamar was led out to be judged she presented the three things – seal, signet with the cord and the staff Judah gave to her as surety. She revealed that those items belonged to the man that impregnated her. Judah was forced to acknowledge that those items belonged to him. It dawned on him that Tamar was more righteous than he. For he had failed to keep his words to her. What a change had overtaken him. So he took her home and did not sleep her again.

Judah could have just finished off Tamar and his tryst with her would have been forgotten. But he didn’t. He owned up to his mistake and acknowledged that his daughter-in-law was more righteous than he. From an account like this, we learn that it is one thing to do wrong and yet another to bravely own up to it. What he did leave us with an example to also face up to our wrong. It’s the first step to an amended life. From this point Judah’s walk became more rightly aligned. Like Judah when he boldly faced his wrong, we too would be equipped to take the next step in the right direction, when we own up to our wrong.  

Genesis 38:1-11 – Human failures do not negate the grace of God

In Genesis 38, we will learn of how God used Tamar to preserve the line of Judah. It is essentially about the providential grace of God at work in the line of Judah to ensure its continuity. This chapter reveals to us the immoral conduct of Judah and Tamar in a foreign land so that the remarkable chaste conduct of Joseph in pagan Egypt could be highlighted. In these first eleven verses, we read of the sin of Judah. The children of Jacob, all 12 of them, must have been aware of the warning given to Abraham and Isaac against marrying foreign women. In a dramatic way, in Genesis 24:3, Abraham made his servant Elizar swear that he would not get a wife for Isaac his son from the Canaanites. The same with Jacob in Genesis 28:1, He specifically told Jacob, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.” From these, we surmise that Judah would be aware of this standing instruction not to marry Canaanite women. Yet despite this knowledge, he broke this standing instruction. This event most likely took place just before or when Joseph was a slave in Egypt. Genesis 38: 1 tells us that Judah went down to the Adullam. There he met Hirah, a Canaanite. We are told that he also met an unnamed Canaanite woman referred to only as the daughter of Shua. Here his lust must have gotten a better of him, so he took the woman in and they had sexual relationship. Being productive, she bore three sons for Judah, namely, Er, Onan and Shelah.

When Er was of age, Judah found him a Canaanite wife. Her name was Tamar. Through Er, half Canaanite and Tamar, a full Canaanite, the line of Judah was supposed to be preserved.  Verse 7 said that Er was wicked and he did not last because the Lord took his life and he died without a child to his name. According to the marital law, Onan the younger brother had the obligation to sleep with Tamar to help his elder brother produce an heir to continue his line. Onan obliged by marrying Tamar but he refused to fulfil his duty so he spilled his semen on to the floor to avoid a pregnancy for Tamar. So the Lord took his life too. Poor Tamar was childless and was a widow twice. Of course, the next in line to go into Tamar would be Shelah, the youngest son of Judah. But Judah chose to sin against Tamar, his daughter-in-law. He sent her away to her father’s house giving the excuse that Shelah was not of age yet. In reality he was afraid that Shelah would share the same ending as Er and Onan. Tamar of course trustingly took Judah at his word and left for her father’s house. Judah had effectively removed Tamar and had defused the situation, or so he thought.

Let us explore two applicable lessons from these eleven verses. Firstly, this account reveals to us the remarkable grace of God. Despite Judah’s failure to walk obediently, King David and ultimately Christ Jesus, the King of kings, came through this line. This would not have been possible if not for the grace of God. Secondly, we are shown how important it is for an upright man to fulfill a promise made. Fear of loss cannot be used as an excuse to negate a promise made. Let us remember not to let the lust of the flesh overtake us and disobey the Lord in His commands. And let our words be our bond to honor the Lord. Then we will be walking right with God.  

Genesis 37: 19-36 – In every experience God is designing the outcome

Joseph, now on his way to Egypt, and Reuben, who had planned to rescue him at an opportune time, did not know about it. To his horror, when he returned to the pit where they had left Joseph’s frail body, he was nowhere to be found. Tearing his robe, he cried desperately, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?” It’s his way of saying “Where can I escape my father’s wrath?” Being the oldest, he anticipated that the blame would fall squarely on him. The only response he got from his brothers was absolute silence.

The plot had thickened and it centred on the multi-coloured tunic of Joseph. The very coat that expressed Jacob’s deep love for his son that became the brothers’ deep hate. Now all that it would become would be the sad instrument for deception. So we read in verses 31-33 “So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 

Remember years ago, Jacob, at the instigation of his mother, used goat skins to deceive his father and stole Esau’s blessing. Now the cockerel indeed had returned to roost. What goes around truly comes around. What he did years ago had come full cycle. He identified his son’s clothes, he saw the mutilated condition of the robe and his conclusion was Joseph was gone forever. Can’t imagine the sorrow that had pierced his soul that day. While traditional mourning would usually take a week, he insisted that his would last till the day he dies. That was the depth of his love and the depth of his sorrow. Nothing and no one could comfort him. What an irony it must have been. The brothers knew that Joseph was not dead. He was bound for Egypt. All they could reminisce was the desperate wail of their brother from the dried well. Ever wondered how their conscience could withstand the deceit? That’s the depth of sin and deception. Hardened, totally hardened.  

Meanwhile regarding Joseph, verse 36 had this to say “…the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.” Now God’s plan for the life of Joseph and his destiny had taken the first step. What would become of Joseph? We all know the conclusion because we have the advantage of living many centuries after what had happened. And we probably cannot understand the magnanimity of Joseph. He absolutely had good reasons to engage in self-pity. Who could blame him if he had developed a victim’s mentality? Humanly speaking, who could have blamed him if he were to be angry with God? But the mind-set of Joseph was nowhere near to any of these. He refused to engender a victimised mentality. He made the best of his circumstance and not wallow in self-pity. That’s the mind-set we must emulate. When life throws lemon at us, someone said, we can make lemonade out of it. We don’t have to develop and live with a slave and victim’s mentality. Shouldn’t we rise up from the ashes of our circumstances and put our hope and trust in God? For surely God is not through with us yet. In all circumstances, remember, God is working out all things for our good and for His glory.

What have all these got to do with us? Just as it was for Joseph, life often hurls at us what seems like injustice, unfairness, inequality and even tragedy. We must never allow them to cause us to develop a victim’s mentality to engage in a self-pity complex. We don’t have to live with the scars of betrayal. The greatest injustice fell on our glorious Lord. Yet in the depth of His indescribable agony, He cried “… Father forgive them.” Life’s realities are undeniable – wound of hurts are real painful. But the ultimate reality is that our God has all the power, and He is working His will in our life through the hardest of circumstances. Let’s learn to live optimally for Him!